Year in Review: 2013

2013 will go down in history as the year the Catholic Church got a new Pope, a royal baby was born, the world said goodbye to Nelson Mandela, Paul Walker and Walter White, and the words “selfie” and “twerk” went mainstream. Many eyes shifted to Siskiyou County in September, when supervisors vot...

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By Skye Kinkade

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Skye Kinkade

Posted Dec. 31, 2013 at 10:15 AM

By Skye Kinkade
Posted Dec. 31, 2013 at 10:15 AM

Siskiyou County, Calif.

2013 will go down in history as the year the Catholic Church got a new Pope, a royal baby was born, the world said goodbye to Nelson Mandela, Paul Walker and Walter White, and the words “selfie” and “twerk” went mainstream.
Many eyes shifted to Siskiyou County in September, when supervisors voted in support of breaking away from California to create the State of Jefferson, and in June, the County Clerk’s office began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Here’s a list of some of the other headlines that graced the front pages of Mt. Shasta Area Newspapers in 2013.
From parking lot to Parker Plaza
2013 was the year that an old dusty parking lot was transformed into a charming gathering place for the community in honor of Dr. Jim Parker, founder of Mountain Runners.
Funded via donations and created through the work of countless volunteers and businesses, the lot on the west side of Mt. Shasta Blvd. is now covered in pavers and attractively “furnished” with stone furniture, crafted by Art Horvath.
Mason Ron Cooper, who did the pavers, also created a fountain in the plaza, which was the site of Mount Shasta’s 2013 Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
Parker was referred to as a magician, “a tenacious visionary,” someone who can control the weather and stop the trains; a man with the power to turn dreams into reality during a well-attended dedication ceremony held at the plaza bearing his name on June 8.
Parker stunned the community in the summer of 2012 when he announced has a terminal form of Lou Gehrig’s Disease and retired from his family practice.
While standing atop a piece of jade, Parker told the hundreds gathered at the Plaza during its dedication: “Sixty to 80 years from now a great grandchild of mine or yours will drive down this street and ask, ‘What’s the story behind that place? And the parent will say, ‘There was this running country doc around the turn of the last century who simply asked himself every morning, Does it matter that I was born?’ I thank all of you for being part of my life.”
The Mount Shasta City Council also honored Parker with a day in his honor. In July, they announced that Feb. 4 will henceforth be recognized as Dr. Jim Parker Day for the work he’s accomplished beautifying, enhancing and transforming the “physical and spiritual aspect of the city.”
The first Dr. Jim Parker Day will be observed in 2014.
Gold thieves caught, historic gold still missing
When two men were caught on surveillance video breaking into the Siskiyou County Courthouse early in 2012 and making off with more than $1 million in historic gold nuggets, many were afraid they’d never be caught.
However, in 2013, two suspects were identified and both are now in custody at the Siskiyou County Jail.
David Dean Johnson, age 50 of El Cerrito, turned himself into authorities on April 1 and has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 19 and he’s being held on $1 million bail.
The second suspect, Scott Wayne Bailey, age 51 of El Sobrante pleaded guilty to the theft after being taken into custody in the Bay Area on Aug. 1. Investigators have said his DNA is a match for that found on a sock thought to have been worn on his hand during the burglary.
Bailey was sentenced to five years incarceration at the Siskiyou County Jail and ordered to pay the county $1.35 million in restitution – a punishment Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus called “singularly unsatisfying.”
Neither Johnson or Bailey have told authorities where the missing gold is, or what might have been done with its proceeds.
“This closes the case against Scott Bailey but leaves open the questions of what he did with our local treasures,” Andrus said. “We are not in any way satisfied with this remedy, as it exchanges a paper judgment for a part of our local heritage of immeasurable value, and which will likely never be repaid. However, it is the best that can be done under the circumstances.”
Sheriff Jon Lopey called the nuggets “an irreplaceable piece of Siskiyou County’s history” with incredible intrinsic value.
All the gold in the display was found in Siskiyou County, where thousands of gold-seeking forty-niners settled in the 1850s to make their fortunes. The gold was accumulated a little at a time by members of the Board of Supervisors through purchases and donations.
Among the still-missing pieces is “The Slipper,” a 28-ounce, shoe-shaped nugget found in the Scott River in 1912. The county paid $550 for the chunk in 1913. That nugget alone, if purchased today for its weight only, would be worth near $50,000.
Jefferson: the 51st state?
On Sept. 3, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve a declaration supporting withdrawal from California to form the long storied State of Jefferson.
District 2 Supervisor Ed Valenzuela, who represents the Mount Shasta and Dunsmuir areas, cast the lone opposing vote.
On Sept. 23, Modoc County approved a similar declaration and on Dec. 3, Tehama County Supervisors decided to put the question up to voters. The Jefferson Declaration Committee is working to gain more support in hopes of making Jefferson State a reality.
District 3 Supervisor Michael Kobseff said Jefferson is “still an uphill cause” but feels the movement is calling attention to the difficulties faced by rural counties. He gave examples of regulations that he feels unfairly target rural counties, including diesel regulations and the state’s Fire Prevention Fee.
According to District 1 Supervisor Brandon Criss, a new state would first need to be approved by the state legislature. In the case of the current plan for the State of Jefferson, that would include both Oregon and California legislatures. Ultimately it must be done through a legislator introducing that bill.
Criss noted that in the case of the State of Jefferson, “It could happen quickly or take years.”
Dunsmuir City Council shakeup
In the course one year, the Dunsmuir City Council went from five members to four, then dropped to two, went up to three and is now back to a full five, with three “new” faces – one councilor has served before.
The shakeup began in January, when Diane Dolf resigned after moving to Mount Shasta, making her no longer eligible to serve on the council. It was decided that Dolf’s seat would remain vacant until November, when it could be filled by an election.
Then, in April, councilors Nick Mitchell and Chris Raine unexpectedly resigned their seats, leaving the council with just two members: Ed Steele and Dave Keisler.
Left in an unusual situation with no quorum to conduct city business, the council appointed a third member. On May 2, Leslie Wilde was appointed from a slate of five hopefuls.
The city hopped along with three councilors until a special election in November, during which Scott Welch and Tim Padula (a former city councilor) were selected by voters to return the Dunsmuir City Council to its full strength.
Weed Pride Project completed
Four years after planning began in July of 2009, the last paver was laid on Weed’s Main Street May 10 to complete the Weed Pride project.
Volunteers completed approximately $470,000 of work on the aging street. Weed’s Main Street now boasts new curbs and gutters, crosswalks, light standards, sidewalks with hand-laid pavers, trees and a wrought iron fence along Boles Creek.
Over the course of the project, some 2,400 feet of conduit for new lights was trenched and installed, the lights wired, 27 concrete footings for light standards poured, half a ton of polymer sand swept into the pavers, 14 custom tree grates designed, 14 new trees planted, and a huge silver sycamore tree replanted.
“I fell joy, relief, and a sense of social accomplishment, said Weed Pride volunteer Mayor Bob Hall. “This has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life.”
The final paver was laid on the east end of the Weed Arch, directly across the street from the spot where the first brick was laid in 2010.
Taking a drive in the woods could land you a fine
In March of 2013, the US Forest Service issued Motor Vehicle Use Maps which feature only those roads in the Shasta Trinity National Forest which are legal to drive on.
These maps serve as an “enforcement tool” for the 2005 Travel Management Rule, according to District Ranger Donna Harmon. All unmotorized uses, including hiking, biking and horseback riding are still allowed on all roads, she said.
If you are found driving on a road other than those marked on the map, you are subject to a fine from $150 to $5,000 and/or six months imprisonment.
Issue of the maps has prompted a movement against the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule, with people from various parts of Siskiyou County banding together to work for its repeal or modification. At various meetings, including a special meeting of the Board of Supervisors in Mount Shasta on July 2 and a community meeting at Weed Elementary School’s gym on Oct. 16, people spoke about their disgust with the closure of roads which have been used for generations for hunting and fishing access, woodcutting, four-wheeling, camping and more.
District 3 Supervisor Michael Kobseff said the county is prepared to litigate the rule and is waiting to see the results of a lawsuit against the Forest Service filed by Butte County.
Kobseff said he agrees with his constituents that the forest road closures are “beyond belief,” adding the Forest Service already has authority to cite people who are being irresponsible with natural resources. Closing roads to motorized vehicles isn’t the solution, he said.
“If they don’t want to maintain them, that’s fine, but don’t close the roads,” he said.
Small schools sweat it
Small schools, including Dunsmuir and McCloud High fought for their lives in 2013, and McCloud is still unsure of its future under the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula.
On April 1, about 100 people came to a community meeting at DHS to discuss the possibility and plan ways to take action against the possibility. Former superintendent/principal Len Foreman travelled to Sacramento and stood in line for a half hour to testify to the Assembly subcommittee for DHS, and Siskiyou County Superintendent of Schools Kermith Walters opposed the transfer of some powers of the County Office of Education to the state.
Now that the LCFF has gone into effect, the bulk of the new law seems to be keeping the majority of schools funded at or above the levels they were in 2012/13. However, some language remains unclarified and may still spell trouble for schools funded as Necessary Small Schools.
While Dunsmuir High announced it won the fight in June – Foreman said funding will be increased per student for the next seven years, assuring enough funding for DHS to survive – the Siskiyou Union High School District is closely monitoring the legislation and is still unsure if McCloud High will be funded in the next school year.
If it is not, SUHSD would suffer a loss of approximately $300,000 in funding, said superintendent Mike Matheson. The closure of McCloud High would also be a blow to the community and every effort is being made to keep it open for years to come, Matheson said.
"The Little White School" stays open - for now
Though a consolidation to Sisson’s campus remains on the back burner into 2014, those who love the iconic and cozy Mount Shasta Elementary School petitioned in 2013 to keep its classrooms full of young students.
A study suggested consolidation would save the district money and is feasible now that enrollment has dropped below the 500 student mark.
Dozens of parents and community members attended the district’s regular board meetings as well as community meetings on the topic to express their displeasure with the idea.
Arguments for keeping MSE open include its more than 100 year history, the need to keep young students safe in their own cozy school, potential crowding at Sisson and infrastructure needs to make Sisson feasible for younger students.
In March, the board decided to wait and see what alternate solutions the community can come up with, including a possible parcel tax to keep the school open in its current configuration.
Last month, the board discussed consolidation again, though no progress was made in either direction. The topic is scheduled to appear on the agenda again as a discussion item in February.
It's not all smiles - Crystal Geyser comes to town
In October with much pomp and circumstance, Crystal Geyser announced their purchase of the 145,000 square foot former Coca Cola water bottling facility just outside Mount Shasta’s city limits on Ski Village Drive.
The company plans to manufacture its Juice Squeeze, Sparkling Mineral Water, Tejava Premium Iced Tea and Metromint products at the facility when they open in December 2014.
Soon after the announcement, a group of citizens began airing serious concerns regarding the plant, arguing that a full Environmental Impact Report should be conducted before Crystal Geyser is allowed to continue with the project.
The group is also concerned about the amount of water the company plans to use and how potentially dangerous effluent will be treated.
Mount Shasta City has pledged to have a full EIR conducted on the expansion of its wastewater treatment system, which will handle Crystal Geyser’s wastewater, though the county said because the plant is already established and CG’s proposed use falls under accepted guidelines, an EIR isn’t required.
Funding to upgrade the city’s wastewater system came from a $3 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration. This amount will be matched by Crystal Geyser to upsize the main sewer interceptor line and add two lagoons at the plant to handle the increase in flows.
It looks like 2014 will be the year we discover how this ongoing story unfolds.